Local History categories: Whaling | Spinner Publications | New Bedford | Portuguese History | Nautical History | Fishing

	Local History

Whaling  (See entire list / Back to top)

Greasy Luck: A Whaling Sketchbook Gordon Grant Dover © Aug. 2004 $9.95 paperback		An eloquent, accurate portrayal of the American whaling industry as it existed for almost two centuries, this superb account of a whaling voyage and its adventures is dramatically captured by 64 of the author's full-page drawings. All the excitement, tedium, exhaustion, and joy of catching these mammoths of the sea is depicted -- from the thrill of a whale breaching and a "Nantucket sleigh ride" to examples of scrimshaw art and views of the foc's'le, galley, and deck. The book's title comes from the cheering crowds at dockside, seeing a whaling crew off and wishing them "Greasy Luck."

Spinner Publications  (See entire list / Back to top)

A Picture Post Card History of Fairhaven Edt. Joseph Thomas and Jay Avila Spinner Pub. © Jul. 2003 $22.00 paperback		A Picture Post Card History of Fairhaven is a pictorial treat served up with more than 200 favorite postcards culled from the collections of The Postcard Collaborators of Fairhaven. Shown collectively, the postcards comprise a medley of people, places, and events that paint a broad stroke of New England history. Fairhaven is a microcosm of the American experience -- with Indian and colonial history, American Revolutionary War battles, and a proud seafaring heritage. Stroll along her shady streets and rustic wharves. Visit her beaches, monuments and pavilions. Marvel at her quaint historic homes and architectural splendor. Enjoy the picture postcard town of Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

Portuguese History  (See entire list / Back to top)

Through a Portagee Gate (Portuguese in America Series) Charles Reis Felix University of Massachusetts Dartmouth © Oct. 2004 $20.00 paperback		Through a Portagee Gate is both autobiography and biography. It gives a remarkably honest self-portrait of growing up Portuguese in New Bedford and is also an endearing tribute to the author's father, a Portuguese immigrant cobbler who came to America in 1915. The narrative reveals a deep desire to escape the confines of the immigrant, ethnic world, while also acknowledging a keen nostalgia about one's past, a need to remember and pay tribute to those who came before us.

Fishing  (See entire list / Back to top)

The Doryman's Reflection Paul Molyneaux Avalon Pub. Grp. © Mar. 2005 $25.00 hardcover		This is the story of Bernard Raynes, one of Maine's last independent commercial fishermen. The author, now an accomplished writer, was once Raynes's apprentice, a young man with no experience who came to Maine with a dream of working on a boat. In the early 1980s, these two men shared some of the fishing industry's best years. But their world changed. The author discusses the factors -- personal and political, environmental and economic -- that led to the decline of New England fishing. While Raynes still hangs on thanks to a philosophy of hard work, consolidation leaves few choices for young fishermen. For over three centuries, Raynes's ancestors invested their futures in the lives of fish. They learned to think like fish. Few today could match his skills, but they don't have to. Technology has edged Raynes out, and his fishing legacy will die with him.

New Bedford  (See entire list / Back to top)

I Didn't Know That!: Greater New Bedford's Golden Nuggets Historic People, Places, and Events (1750 to 1925) Jack Radcliffe Lucem Diffundo Pub. LLC ©2001 $7.95 paperback		The builder of the U.S.S. Constitution, the first African-American soldier to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Witch of Wall Street, were all natives of New Bedford and its surrounding area. Gathered together - in many cases for the first time - in print are the not-so-trivial trivia of the city's rich and diverse history. I Didn't Know That! discovers New Bedford's historic gems, gathering them in one slim volume where they can shine as a beacon of hope for the city. Researched and written by Jack Radcliffe, with a touching and very apt forward by Gerald FitzGerald, former editor of the New Bedford Standard-Times, I Didn't Know That! is a loving tribute to one city's considerable history will undoubtedly become a family treasure to be read again and again.

Nautical History  (See entire list / Back to top)

Voyage of the Catalpa Peter F. Stevens Carroll & Graf © Jan. 2003 $24.95 hardcover		Launched from New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1876, the American whaling ship Catalpa set out on a mission of mercy. This suspenseful book tells the real-life rescue of six Irish rebels from Britain's infamous prison colony in Fremantle, Australia. Despite the title, the book covers far more than just the rescue ship's voyage, bringing to life the web of political interests and conflicts among Ireland, England and the U.S. toward the end of the 19th century. In a fast-moving narrative that reads like fiction, journalist Stevens describes the ordeal of the Irishmen in prison, as well as the plotting of the clandestine rescue mission.